Michael G. Johnston
RAHWAY, NJ — A Union County jury has returned a guilty verdict against a man who slashed the throat of a Rahway man last year, Union County First Assistant Prosecutor James O. Tansey announced on Thursday, Aug. 4.
Michael G. Johnston, 45, of Winfield Park, was found guilty on one count each of second-degree aggravated assault, third-degree aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, third-degree possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes and fourth-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, following a two-week trial before Union County Superior Court Judge Robert Kirsch. The jury deliberated for approximately three hours before returning its verdict.
On Monday, Aug. 30, 2021, at approximately 1:45 a.m., a Rahway Police Department patrol unit was in the area of CVS/pharmacy on the 800 block of Saint Georges Avenue when they were approached by a 25-year-old male who was bleeding from his neck, according to Union County Assistant Prosecutor Melissa Caparruva, who prosecuted the case. The victim was stabilized and transported to University Hospital, where he was treated for non–life-threatening injuries, Caparruva said.
An investigation led by detectives from the Rahway Police Department quickly resulted in Johnston being identified as a suspect in the case. Soon thereafter, Johnson was arrested at his home in Winfield Park and remanded to the county jail pending the outcome of the trial.
At trial, it was revealed that Johnston and the victim were at Butch Kowal’s Tavern in Rahway and had a verbal confrontation outside the bar. This verbal dispute ended with Johnston attacking the victim with a knife, causing two lacerations to the victim’s throat and one to his wrist. Witnesses, physical evidence and video surveillance in the area presented during the course of the trial were able to definitively pinpoint Johnston as the attacker, Caparruva said.
Sentencing has been scheduled for Friday, Sept. 30, before Kirsch, at which time Johnston can face a sentence of as much as 10 years in state prison with an 85-percent period of mandatory parole ineligibility pursuant to the state’s No Early Release Act.